Fake Debt Collectors May be Calling YOU
Last week I received a call from a little old lady who kept trying to describe an outrageous debt collection call she received. Everytime she described it, the story was a little different, but I had never heard of a call like that before.
As it turns out, the debt collector may have never been collecting a debt, because there might not have been a debt in the first place. According to ABCNews.com there have been a rash of debt collection calls that involve completely false allegations of defaulted accounts. It's just a scam, probably by overseas con artists. If you receive a call from a client describing a collector who makes threats with a lot of legalese mumbo-jumbo, this may be the type of operator that you're dealing with. The scam operators use stolen identification and sometimes account data to sound official. Probably the biggest tipoff is the demand to wire money right away. Because the collectors are very good at hiding their identity, it doesn't seem like there's much you can do about this type of case other than client education.
Thursday, June 04, 2009
Monday, June 01, 2009
Sunday, May 31, 2009
GM Bankruptcy Tomorrow
Play Us Out Keyboard Cat
The Code Nazis got a hold of my last post. I can't remember what the post was about. Something about the theoretical value of General Motors. At any rate, GM is set to file Chapter 11 before the markets open tomorrow. Play us out Keyboard Cat.
Hey Steve
Do you know the difference between Lebron James and the Boston Strangler?
A. - The Boston Strangler never choked in May.
(Editor's note: I checked, he didn't. Stabbed yes, choked, no.)
Thursday, May 28, 2009
Auto News May 28, 2009:
Visteon goes C11
Opel Sale Hits Roadblocks
GM Sweetens Offer to Bond Holders - Some Accept
Here's the quick & dirty. Visteon Corporation, formerly part of Ford Motor Company, has filed for chapter 11 bankruptcy, at least for its USA operations. General Motors is having trouble giving Opel away. General Motors sweetened its offer to its bondholders, and the bondholders committee has endorsed the proposal. No time for analysis now.
Visteon goes C11
Opel Sale Hits Roadblocks
GM Sweetens Offer to Bond Holders - Some Accept
Here's the quick & dirty. Visteon Corporation, formerly part of Ford Motor Company, has filed for chapter 11 bankruptcy, at least for its USA operations. General Motors is having trouble giving Opel away. General Motors sweetened its offer to its bondholders, and the bondholders committee has endorsed the proposal. No time for analysis now.
Wednesday, May 27, 2009
Toyota Boosts Prius Production
After receiving preorders exceeding 100,000 units, Toyota announced that it is boosting production of its Prius hybrid from 43,000 per month to 50,000. Multiply that by 12 months, that's 600,000 units per year. Multiply that by an average selling price of $23,000 per unit, and that makes $13.8 billion dollars in revenue from this model alone. That's not too far off Chrysler's total revenue projection. The Prius is only manufactured in Japan for now. Toyota was planning on assembling the Prius in a new factory in Mississippi in 2010. Even though the production plant was 90% complete, the project was mothballed in December 2008 due to the worsening economy. I wonder if current sales projections will give the Toyota brass enough confidence to restart the Mississippi project.
After receiving preorders exceeding 100,000 units, Toyota announced that it is boosting production of its Prius hybrid from 43,000 per month to 50,000. Multiply that by 12 months, that's 600,000 units per year. Multiply that by an average selling price of $23,000 per unit, and that makes $13.8 billion dollars in revenue from this model alone. That's not too far off Chrysler's total revenue projection. The Prius is only manufactured in Japan for now. Toyota was planning on assembling the Prius in a new factory in Mississippi in 2010. Even though the production plant was 90% complete, the project was mothballed in December 2008 due to the worsening economy. I wonder if current sales projections will give the Toyota brass enough confidence to restart the Mississippi project.
GM-GOVERNMENT-UAW REACH DEAL
Lack of Creditor Deal Portends Chapter 11 Filing
I'm still trying to comprehend the details of the deal reached between GM and the UAW. Officially, it's a restructuring of the 2007 collective bargaining agreement, but to make the deal work, the government had to put billions worth of sweetening on the table. The UAW keeps their base wage, keeps their pension, gives in some on healthcare, and gives in a lot on work rules. An increased government cash outlay makes the GM healthcare and pension less at the mercy of future GM stock valuations, and in return, the government will own as much as 80% of the stock of the corporation. There will be cutbacks in plants, and buyouts. It looks like GM will be bringing part of Delphi back as a wholly owned subsidiary, but that's contingent on getting teh deal approved in the Delphi bankruptcy, and there may be some snags there. GM committed to building a small car in the United States. It's not clear whether they are talking about the Cruse or a different one. GM might still import some cars from China, but there will be limits. For complete coverage of a deal including a pdf of the agreement itself, check out the Detroit Free Press coverage at freep.com.
Lack of Creditor Deal Portends Chapter 11 Filing
I'm still trying to comprehend the details of the deal reached between GM and the UAW. Officially, it's a restructuring of the 2007 collective bargaining agreement, but to make the deal work, the government had to put billions worth of sweetening on the table. The UAW keeps their base wage, keeps their pension, gives in some on healthcare, and gives in a lot on work rules. An increased government cash outlay makes the GM healthcare and pension less at the mercy of future GM stock valuations, and in return, the government will own as much as 80% of the stock of the corporation. There will be cutbacks in plants, and buyouts. It looks like GM will be bringing part of Delphi back as a wholly owned subsidiary, but that's contingent on getting teh deal approved in the Delphi bankruptcy, and there may be some snags there. GM committed to building a small car in the United States. It's not clear whether they are talking about the Cruse or a different one. GM might still import some cars from China, but there will be limits. For complete coverage of a deal including a pdf of the agreement itself, check out the Detroit Free Press coverage at freep.com.
A Simple Bad Used Car Sale - Or Is It?
I don't even remember how I came to read this story on the shreveporttimes.com website. At first blush, this appears to be a typical consumer reporter story about a woman who couldn't get her car title from a used car dealer. When you actually think about the facts as described in the story, they don't add up. Why would this woman aquiese in having her son trade cars in her name several times without her signing or seeing any paperwork? What was the real relationship between the parties? After you read the story, read the comments left by readers. I don't have any idea what the true objective facts are here, but this case reminds me of so many cases I worked when I was in private practice where I thought I had an iron clad case only to find that there was a secret backstory that only became known when I was too far into the case for a graceful (and cheap) exit.
I don't even remember how I came to read this story on the shreveporttimes.com website. At first blush, this appears to be a typical consumer reporter story about a woman who couldn't get her car title from a used car dealer. When you actually think about the facts as described in the story, they don't add up. Why would this woman aquiese in having her son trade cars in her name several times without her signing or seeing any paperwork? What was the real relationship between the parties? After you read the story, read the comments left by readers. I don't have any idea what the true objective facts are here, but this case reminds me of so many cases I worked when I was in private practice where I thought I had an iron clad case only to find that there was a secret backstory that only became known when I was too far into the case for a graceful (and cheap) exit.
Saturday, May 23, 2009
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
